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Once Sonic locks-on to an object and begins the Homing Attack animation, use the Boost to start flying across the level and carry your inertia!


— Evan (@Mardiculous), Sonic Frontiers: Speed Strats - Cyberspace

The Homing Dash[1][2] (ホーミングブースト[3] Hōmingu Būsuto?, lit. "Homing Boost") is a move that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a technique that allows the player to fly above and across environments, similar to the Air Boost.

The technique became well-known in the speedrunning community, where it had initially given names like "Homing Cancel", "Magnet Dash" and "The Griddy". It was later officially acknowledged and given the official name.

Concept and creation[]

Production[]

During the production of Sonic Frontiers, Morio Kishimoto knew about the move. Although he didn't make it intentionally, he decided to leave it as a technique, for people to discover and have more fun with it, similar to the Hado-Shoryuken from the Street Fighter franchise.[4]

Discoveries[]

Although many players might have performed the technique during the release of Sonic Frontiers, and beforehand during early copies and/or playtestings, the earliest known form of the Homing Dash ever recorded was on November 9, 2022, when a user called "Dollip Daze" was demonstrating the "glitch".[5] The earliest known information about the Homing Dash in general was from a user called Gordon. Four days prior to the game's release, they mentioned that a "mechanic" allows the player to fly real fast.[6]

Naming[]

Amongst the speedrunning community, many speedrunners gave it many names, such as "Homing Cancel", "Magnet Dash" and "The Griddy". On December 21, 2022, the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel published a video about Sonic Frontiers, entitled "Sonic Frontiers: Speed Strats - Cyber Space", where the exploit was shown and was given the official name: "Homing Dash". Additionally, it was given other official names for other languages.[1] It was not until version 1.3.0 of Sonic Frontiers that the name was officially introduced in the game, as well as the other ones.[2]

Description[]

When performing the Homing Dash, Sonic/Amy/Knuckles starts doing the animation for when he performs a Air Boost. Sonic will then "fly" at a speed much faster than Power Boost on the ground.

Overview[]

In Sonic Frontiers, the Homing Dash appears as one of the exploits in Open Zone areas and Cyber Space stages. While it is less apparent in Open-Zone areas, the effect is much more apparent in Cyber Space stages, especially 2D areas.

In gameplay, the move can be performed by having the white target cursor showing. Then, pressing Square/X button/Switch y and immediately pressing/holding R2/Xbox RT2-1/Switch zr right after. Doing it successfully, in any direction the player wants, will cause Sonic/Amy/Knuckles to be launched at high speed. Depending on when and where the player is about to hit the target, the player will either get launched upwards or sideways.

The technique itself is hugely utilized in Cyber Space stages by speedrunners in order to complete them as quick as possible. One of its well-known uses are for 1-2, due to its strict time-clear requirement to get an S Rank when the game first came out. Performing it during the Wyvern chase and escaping Knight's shield will simply lock Sonic's speed to max instead.

While Sonic is able to perform the Homing Dash via Power Boost, at the maximum number of Rings, Amy is unable to perform the Homing Dash when their Ring count is at max due to the Card Spin Boost's startup animation cancelling any momentum once used. Knuckles, while still able to perform it even via Drill Spin Boost, is slightly inferior to Sonic's Homing Dash.

When using the technique in Arcade Mode and Cyber Space Challenge, a white marker would appear at the top-right of the clear time, although it would not mean anything. Initially, in version 1.2.0, it was the only one to have this mark. As of version 1.3.0, however, four time-saving marks similar to the Homing Dash marks were added, with the Spin Dash (being red), the Power Boost (being blue), and deceleration rate change when jumping (being yellow). It was an asterik in version between 1.2.0. and 1.3.0, but was changed into a triangle in version 1.4.0. A fifth time-saving mark was also added in the update, with it being purple and only appears if the player maintains the Boost during a jump.

Trivia[]

  • Although the international names are identical to the ones from the original Speed Strats video, the Japanese release of the video, via subtitles, initially used a direct translation of Homing Dash (ホーミングダッシュ Hōmingu Dasshu?) before "Homing Boost" was used in-game.[7]
  • The player is able to use the technique, alongside the "Hedgehog Space Program" glitch, to perform the "Slingshot" glitch.
  • Because Tails cannot perform the Homing Attack in Sonic Frontiers, he is the only playable character in said-game that cannot perform a Homing Dash.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sonic the Hedgehog (December 21, 2022). Sonic Frontiers: Speed Strats - Cyberspace. YouTube. Retrieved on December 29, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sonic Team (November 6, 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Area/level: System Notification. "When the following time-saving actions are used in Cyber Space, colored marks will now appear in the results:
    -Homing Dash: white
    -Spin Dash: red
    -Change in deceleration rate when jumping: yellow
    -Cyber Space Power Boost: blue"
  3. Sonic Team (November 6, 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Area/level: System Notification. "電脳空間で大幅なタイム短縮が行える以下のアクションを使用した場合、リザルト専用のマークが表示されるようになりました。
    -ホーミングブースト→白マーク
    -スピンダッシュ→赤マーク
    -ジャンプ時減速率の変更→黄マーク
    -電脳パワーブースト→青マーク"
  4. Morio Kishimoto on Twitter (Japanese). Twitter. Morio Kishimoto (January 27, 2023). Retrieved on July 23, 2023. "Morio Kishimoto: こんにちは!ホーミングダッシュは制作中に存在は知っていましたが、意図的に作ったものでは無かったのですが、テクニックとして残しました。それは、「ストリートファイター2」の波動昇龍拳のように、いつか気づけば、きっと楽しみが広がることを考えての判断です。[Hello! I knew about the homing dash during the production, but I didn't make it intentionally, but I left it as a technique. This decision was made with the idea that, just like the Hadou Shoryuken in "Street Fighter 2," one day you'll find yourself having more fun with it.]"
  5. Dollip Daze (November 9, 2022). HOMING CANCEL - Sonic Frontiers Speedrun Tech. YouTube. Retrieved on 29 June 2023.
  6. Screenshot of Gordon's reveal of the Homing Dash mechanic
  7. 『ソニックフロンティア』 Speed Strats #3. YouTube. ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ 【公式】 (December 21, 2022). Retrieved on June 30, 2023.

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